Tuesday, Jan. 20th

--Turned in scratch art assignments at the beginning of class
--Today we started out Three Cups of Tea unit. We did a "photo art gallery" activity with some images from the story, and then I gave some background on the book. We picked up the books at the end of class, so be sure to get yours from the textbook window if you were gone today.
--We also reviewed an ongoing assignment that we'll be working on during this unit--an interview story about a real-life hero in our community. See below for the details on the assignment. The first deadline is to decide on a real-life hero that you want to (and can) interview, and to give me their name, contact info, and your interview time on Monday the 26th.
--HW: Read pgs. 1-26 in 3 Cups for next time; start thinking about who you want to interview


Interview/Creative Nonfiction Project

As part of our study of Middle Eastern literature and the nonfiction book Three Cups of Tea, you will be interviewing a person in our local community who has made a positive contribution to the world. This positive contribution could be anything. You might choose to interview a 30-year-old man who runs a local charity for homeless children, or you might choose to interview a single mother who works 3 jobs and still manages to make it to all of her children’s PTA meetings. Although I would prefer you choose someone who is not a family member, if you feel that someone in your family is the best choice for this project, you may choose him or her as your subject. Take this seriously, though—you need to choose someone that you truly feel has made an important, significant impact so that you can write a great story about him or her.

You will be conducting two interviews during this unit: the first should be an hour-long in-person interview, and the second can be a shorter telephone one. You will then use the information you gain from your interviews to write a final piece of creative non-fiction. In class, we will teach you some basic interview skills as well as give you a great deal of guidance in how to write strong creative nonfiction.

Due Dates:
• Monday, January 26—You will turn in the name of the person you want to interview, his/her contact information, and a 60-minute time slot you have scheduled to interview him/her. Remember to be polite when requesting interview times and that you must work around their schedule.
• The first interview must be completed by Tuesday, February 3 and the second by Wednesday, February 11. Plan accordingly.

I am available every morning before school and evenings after school for help with this assignment. Please schedule a time to talk with me if you are struggling.

People like Greg Mortenson in Three Cups of Tea exist everywhere—all we have to do is look. I hope that you will leave this project not only with some newfound writing skills, but also with a sense of hope about the positive contributions we can all make to our world.